Moses his prayer. Or, An exposition of the nintieth Psalme.: In which is set forth, the frailty and misery of mankind; most needfull for these times. Wherein [brace] 1. The sum and scope. 2. The doctrines. 3. The reasons. 4. The uses of most texts are observed. / By Samuel Smith, minister of the Gospel, author of Davids repentance and the Great assize, and yet living.

And our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. [Text.]

NOte we farther, how Moses con∣fesseth here, that the Lord did punish them for their secret sins, as for their open iniquities. And these God

did set before his eyes to take venge∣ance, and to punish them for, as for their open rebellions; teaching us,

That it is the nature of godly sor∣row and true repentance, [Doct. 4] * 1.1 to be hum∣bled and repent for lesser sins, as for great offences; yea for our most secret sins such as the world could never take notice of, yet a true penitent soul will be humbled for.

It is not enough for men to sorrow and repent for open, notorious, and scandalous sins, such as are Murther, Whoredome, Drunkennesse, &c. But our repentance must reach to lesser sins, that is, such sins as we have commit∣ted in secret, that never came to the view of the world. To clear this:

Take we notice first of all of Da∣vids Example and Practice herein. When Nathan by his parable had convinced him of his sins, of Adultery and Murther and that his heart smote him for the same, these sins he acknow∣ledgeth, * 1.2 I have sinned (saith he) a∣gainst the Lord. And how heavy the guilt of those sins lay upon his soul, * 1.3 we may see in that penitential Psalme

of his, by his manner of begging par∣don, Wash me, cleanse me, blot out; restore me to the joy of my salvati∣on, &c.

Yet as though all this were not e∣nough, he accuseth himself of that, which Nathan did not, by acknow∣ledging the very root and spawn of all those evils, * 1.4 saying, Behold, I was sha∣pen in iniquity, and in sin did my mo∣ther conceive me. David will no lon∣ger flatter himself in his sinful courses and secret sins, but confesseth all, and begs pardon of all; * 1.5 Cleanse thou me from my secret faults.

O how ready are these wretched hearts of ours to deceive us in this par∣ticular: If our hearts smite us, and our consciences accuse us for some grosse sin or other that we have committed, and the world cries shame of, and we confesse the same to God, and beg par∣don for it, we think all is well: In the mean time there is a world of wicked∣nesse that lies hid in the soul we see not, * 1.6 the very thoughts and imaginati∣ons of our hearts being evil continual∣ly; and all our righteousness, even

our best duties themselves, are as a menstruous cloth; and When we have done all that we can we are unprofitable servants, and have cause to pray with good Nehemiah, * 1.7 O my God pardon me according to the greatness of thy mer∣cy. And without this sense of the uni∣versal depravity of our Natures, and of those secret sins that cleave to us in our best duties, our pronenesse to all evil, our indisposition to any thing that is good; the blindnesse of our Understanding, the rebellion of our Wills, the disorder of our Affections, and that indeed we carry about us a very Body of sin, and can be humbled for these, and repent of these as well as for our grosse sins, we are strangers to godly sorrow and true repentance.

And the first Reason may be taken from the nature of true Grace, [Reas. 1] and godly sorrow for sin. If this be true, sincere and unfained, it will set it self against every sin, and will work an universal change in the whole man; at least in an unfained desire and ende∣vour in the heart, though by and by it cannot subdue and bring under every

sin, yet it will set it self against it, and will be humbled for it. The nature of true Grace is to make the inside cleane as the outside; it worketh faith in the soul: and it is the nature of faith, to purifie the heart; * 1.8 and the heart being clean and pure, the thoughts, the words and actions of the life, will in some good measure be sutable.

May be taken from the nature of God, [Reas. 2] who is Omniscient, and is privy to all our sins, even to the most secret windings and turnings in the heart of man, as it is in this Text, Thou hast set our secret sins in the light, &c. There is nothing that ever we did, but the Lord is privy to it: * 1.9 All my wayes (saith David) are before thee; there is not a word in my tongue, but thou, O Lord, knowest it altogether; and Job acknowledgeth, * 1.10 There is no thought hid from thee.

And as the Lord sees and observes our wayes, so he will not fail to judge every man according to his works, * 1.11 And will bring every work to judge∣ment, with every secret thing, whe∣ther it be good or evil.

So then whether we consider the na∣ture of true Grace, that albeit it can∣not subdue every corruption by and by, yet will it set it self against all and is humbled for all; or that God sees and beholds our most secret sins, and will not fail to punish them. This shews the Doctrine to be clear, That godly sorrow and true repentance doth reach to the most secret sins.

This serves to discover unto us in what a miserable estate and condition many in the world are in at this day; [Use 1] and how far they are from true repen∣tance, that flatter themselves, that so long as they are not notorious sinners, Drunkards, Swearers, openly pro∣phane, &c. and are not guilty of such sins as all the world cries shame of, they thinke they shall doe well e∣nough.

O how far are such from the grace of true Repentance, whose property is to set it self against our most secret corruptions, since our most secret sins are such as the Lord will most severely reckon for.

Moses sin for the which the Lord

would not suffer him to come into the land of Canaan, was a secret sin in his heart, yet how severely did the Lord punish this sin in his servant?

And Peter with Simon Magus to pray, * 1.12 If perhaps the thought of his heart might be forgiven him. So that there is no true repentance when men are not humbled for their most secret sins.

And Gods children that have the truth of grace in their hearts, are as much humbled for their secret sins, for their privy and close sins, their sinful thoughts, and lusts of their hearts, hy∣pocrisie, neglect of duties, coldnesse in prayer, &c. they be oft brought upon their knees for these.

And this shews the folly and mad∣nesse of those likewise, that if they can but commit their sins in the night when none can see them, as to steale, commit Adultery, &c. think all is well: whereas though thou mayest hide thy sins from men, yet even thy most close and secret sins are open and naked in the sight of God, his All-seeing eyes were then upon thee; he took thee in

the manner. * 1.13 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and his feet like fine brasse. He sees in the darkest night, and into the most secret corner, and he will not fail to punish the sinner.

Seeing it is so sure a note of godly sorrow and true Repentance, [Use 2] to be humbled for lesser sins as greater, for secret sins as those that are openly committed;

This may serve to justifie the wayes and courses of the godly, against all those scoffs and taunts of wicked and gracelesse ones daily cast upon them for piety sake, that they are so strict, and so precise in every thing, even in mat∣ters of the smallest moment that they love singularity, and deprive them∣selves of that liberty and pleasure that others enjoy, they will not swear nor drink for company, nor run with o∣thers into the same excesse of riot,

It is true indeed this they do not, nei∣ther dare they do it; and this is indeed the main cause why the world hates them: But it is better that men should hate us for good, then that God should plague us for evil.

Little doth the graceless world know what the terrors of the Lord are, and how sensible a tender conscience is of sin, especiall such as have been in the furnace of Soul-affliction. Davids heart smote him for the very renting off of Sauls garment, when his life it self was in his hand. It is neither folly nor precisenesse in any, to avoid the least sin, that is so hated of God, and will be so severely punished of him. Let such remember, that it was the sin of cursed Cain to hate his brother for good. * 1.14

And last of all, [Use 3] this serves to disco∣ver the wofull estate of those that co∣vet nothing more then to shut their eyes, yea and stiflle the checks of their own Consciences; that when by the Ministery of the Word they are con∣vinced of their sins and of the mise∣rable estate wherein they stand by rea∣son of sin, labour by all means to keep this sorrow of heart from them, like a poor condemned creature, that stops his ears that he may not hear the Sen∣tence of Condemnation passe against him: whereas his onely way were to

be humbled for his offence, and to beg pardon, there cannot be a more cer∣tain signe of an obdurate and hard heart, then thus to stifle Conscience, to hate reproofs, that they might go on in a sinfull course without controle∣ment. * 1.15 Whereas a godly heart can say with David, Let the righteous smite me, for that is a precious oyle. And by their judging of themselves, they shall escape the judgement of the Lord: * 1.16 That sin that is judged here, shall not be judged hereafter.

Notes

• * 1.1

  A true pentient will be humbled for his most se∣cret sins.
• * 1.2

  2 Sam. 12.13.
• * 1.3

  Ps. 51.
• * 1.4

  ver. 5.
• * 1.5

  Ps. 19.12
• * 1.6

  Gen. 6.
• * 1.7

  Neh. 13.21.
• * 1.8

  Acts 15.9.
• * 1.9

  Ps. 119.168. Ps. 139.4
• * 1.10

  Iob 42.4.
• * 1.11

  2 Cor. 5.10. Eccl. 12.14.
• * 1.12

  Acts 8.
• * 1.13

  Rev. 1.17
• * 1.14

  1 Ioh. 3.12.
• * 1.15

  Ps. 141.5.
• * 1.16

  1 Cor. 11.32.